US Safety Regulator Begins Process of Making New Rules for Technology to Prevent Drunk Driving

NHTSA Acting Officer, Ann Carlson, (photo: x @menggahQ)

JAKARTA -  The United States automotive safety regulator (NHTSA) announced on Tuesday 12 December that it has begun a process that will eventually require car manufacturers to adopt new technology to prevent drunk drivers from being able to start vehicles.

In 2021, Congress directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to mandate passive technologies to avoid more than 10,000 road deaths annually. The law requires new technology security standards by November 2024 when the technology is ready.

There are several potential technologies being developed that could prevent affected people from starting a vehicle, including breath or touch sensors to detect alcohol. Another potential option is to use cameras to monitor eye movements to try to determine whether the driver is under the influence.

Even so, NHTSA must be confident that the technology works before it can mandate it, and then give automakers at least three years to implement it after passing the rule.

"We're trying to see if we can get it done, if the technology is in a state that will work every time," said NHTSA Acting Officer Ann Carlson, adding that public acceptance of the technology will depend on its accuracy.

Carlson said that there are about 1 billion separate daily trips in the United States.

"If the accuracy was 99.9%, you could have a million false positives," Carlson said. "That false positive could be someone trying to go to the hospital for an emergency."

NHTSA on Tuesday published a “previously proposed regulatory announcement” to begin the process of gathering information on how the technology could be developed and made mandatory.

The regulatory announcement detailed the research and technological advances needed to establish the regulations and potential regulatory options, citing "blood alcohol content detection, impairment detection (driver monitoring), or a combination of the two."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving President Tess Rowland said the group is "very pleased" with the rollout of the NHTSA rule.

"We realize there is still a mountain to climb," Rowland said. "The victim and the victim's family will not let this stop."

In 2021, 13,384 people died in traffic accidents caused by alcohol-impaired drivers, which is the most recent statistics available.

Separately, Carlson will tell a US House of Representatives committee on  Wednesday December 13 that deaths on US highways fell 4.5% in the first nine months of the year after rising sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While we are optimistic that we are finally seeing the highest decline in fatalities seen during the pandemic, this is not a cause for celebration," Carlson's written testimony said.